News
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Fed takeover of VET unlikely
14 March 2016 | The newly-minted Commonwealth minister for skills, Scott Ryan, has poured cold water on a proposed Commonwealth takeover of vocational education and training set out in a draft of a paper to go to the next meeting of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). Under the proposal, TAFE fees would be deregulated and TAFEs would receive the same funding. While education Simon Birmingham has strongly advocated a Commonwealth takeover, Ryan says there are strong arguments to maintain the current system. Ryan said redesigning the troubled VET FEE-HELP scheme - which has blown … [Read more...]

But Federation Uni does
ABC News | 11 March 2016
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Deakin University is considering withdrawing from its Warrnambool campus, about 250km south-west of Melbourne, amid a steep decline in student numbers, from 1,342 students in 2011 to a forecast 872 students this year.
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Deakin vice-chancellor Professor Jane den Hollander says the university hopes to maintain the campus, but that "all options" are on the table. Den Hollander has made it pretty clear that the preferred option is another provider - such as Federation University - taking over the campus but if that can’t be negotiated then closing the campus … [Read more...]

The Australian | 16 April 2015
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Victoria’s vice-chancellors have warned that their universities’ surpluses are artificially “inflated” and may bear little relation to reality.
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Among other pressures, the end of the Education Infrastructure Fund means need to generate healthy surpluses to fund future investments.
Victorian Vice Chancellor’s Committee chair and La Trobe vice-chancellor John Dewar says:
This is the only way a university can fund a capital program given that there are no longer any sources of government funds for capital projects. By and large, universities operate with very low … [Read more...]

Edition # 166
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Higher ed reforms referred back to Committee
12 February 2015 | Labor, the Greens and four independent senators (Senators Xenophon, Lambie, Muir, Rhiannon and Lazarus) have joined forces to establish another inquiry into higher education reform, to report by 17 March. The committee will consider alternatives to deregulation, likely future demand for places and implications on student loans, research infrastructure and regional provision. The inquiry will also look to investigate “the appropriateness and accuracy of government … [Read more...]

The Conversation | 9 February 2015
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The fragile consensus within Universities Australia around support for the government’s fee deregulation package has begun to fracture (it was always chimerical), with Victoria University vice-chancellor Peter Dawkins proposing a “third way” between a high degree of regulation and unfettered regulation that combines managed deregulation with a stronger equity package and oversight. Canberra’s Stephen Parker has opposed the package from the get-go, with a number of other vice-chancellors having expressed reservations, including Swinburne vice-chancellor Linda Kristjanson (Swinburne), Jane den Hollander … [Read more...]

Deakin University | 27 January 2015
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Deakin University, with its large presence in regional Victoria, has announced a partnership with Australia's only regionally based bank, Bendigo Bank.
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The heads of the two institutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding in late January, committing both to explore ways to build brighter futures for students and Victorian and NSW regional communities.
Deakin vice-chancellor Professor Jane den Hollander and Bendigo's managing director Mike Hirst launched the initiative by announcing 40 students would be granted scholarships for three years of … [Read more...]

Central Institute students awarded Mick Young Scholarships
Western Australia’s Deputy Premier Dr Kim Hames last week presented Mick Young Scholarships to 25 students at Central Institute of Technology in Perth.
Worth $500 each, the scholarships were co-funded by the TDA National Scholarships Foundation and Central Institute of Technology. The expansion of the Mick Young Scholarships is part of TDA’s campaign to widen scholarship for students facing financial challenges.
The presentation at the Institute’s Northbridge campus was attended by the Executive Director of the TDA Scholarships Foundation Theresa Collignon and Central Institute’s Managing Director Neil Fernandes.
See the … [Read more...]

Deakin Newsroom | 26 June 2014
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Professor Jane den Hollander has been reappointed as Deakin University’s Vice-Chancellor and President for a further five years from 1 July 2014.
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The Chancellor of Deakin University, David Morgan said that Professor den Hollander “has provided inspirational and highly effective leadership to Deakin University at a time of significant change to the tertiary sector.
During her stewardship, Deakin’s reputation and standing in the community has significantly strengthened. Deakin has been the highest ranked Victorian university each year for overall student … [Read more...]

30 May 2014
A wink's as good as a nod (etc)
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After nearly three weeks, the controversy around the Budget has barely abated. Opinion polls tell us it’s the most unpopular Budget ever, perceived as unfair and littered with broken promises. That’s one thing about opinion polls: politicians can no longer resort to the sanctuary of the Silent Majority; however well informed, the Majority, these days, is loud and clamorous.
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It’s a tricky situation for a first term government delivering its first budget, not helped by the fact that senior ministers, from the prime minister down, are apparently not … [Read more...]

Deakin News | 27 May 2014
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Deakin University will freeze fees at pre-Budget levels for all students who start in 2014 to “provide fairness and certainty” for new Australian domestic students.
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Vice-chancellor Professor Jane den Hollander said it isn’t fair that those students who enroll at Deakin the day after the Budget will have different conditions than those who enrolled the day before the Budget.
“All of our students deserve to have a clear understanding of the costs of their degree and studies. In order to study well, they should not be anxious or constantly checking what their fees … [Read more...]